This book is in two parts. Part I is by Prof Arunachalam (Retd) deals with numerous seen and unseen underwater hazards in near shore coastal waters and river mouths along the Indian coast. These have been recognised by Indian seamen since early days. This recognition is perfected with the aid of traditional landmarks named in local sea dialects and now – a – days with modern landmarks like lighthouses and helps them in steering a safe passage through difficult waters, in reaching a landing site or ports. This fund of knowledge led to visual sketching of the features thus becoming a forerunner to early charting, standardised in later colonial days though Admiralty Charts and the present Naval Hydrographic Charts. Part II, jointly authored by Mrs Mary Edward and Dr Sachin Pendse is a special study of the coasts of Konkan and South Gujarat, their submarines morphology, littoral circulation pattern and sailing hazards as specific illustrations of the discussions in the first part.
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